After appeasing the masses with the astounding ‘Casanova’ in October, Thornhill return with their pulsing new single ‘Arkangel‘ today.
The first new music since their acclaimed 2019 debut album The Dark Pool, ‘Casanova’ (music video here) swung heads for its elevated imagery dripping in glitter and Hollywood glam. Backing it up with ‘Arkangel’ today, Thornhill no doubt confirm they’ve stepped into an inspired new era both musically and visually, and prove yet again they are one of the most forward-thinking bands in Australia today.
‘Arkangel’ was mixed by George Lever (Sleep Token, Loathe), meanwhile its music video (watch here) was written and directed by Jacob Charlton and edited by Third Eye Visuals.
Thornhill guitarist Ethan McCann shares how the track came to life instrumentally: “I started writing ‘Arkangel’ after surrounding myself with media from the late nineties and early two thousands. I found the hit of nostalgia to be incredibly comforting while we were all locked away. I wanted this song to make you feel the way I felt watching these shows and movies from this period, so I treated it almost like a film score. I found the opening credits to the old Sarah Michelle Gellar ‘Buffy’ series and basically wrote to that opening sequence. The sections of the song move quite rapidly, the root changes three or four times within the first minute which to me is what a band full of teenagers would be doing in their garage. They don’t really know what they’re doing but it feels natural and is such a perfect representation of that era that they are living in.”
Vocalist and lyricist Jacob Charlton adds how he leant into Ethan’s instrumentation when crafting the narrative behind the track: “I usually write lyrics and melodies around the general atmosphere Ethan brings to each track to better bring it forward in the listener and myself, as a lyricist. But this time around with Ethan’s new ound method of creating, I decided to change up my work flow and write a bit more like a script or movie narrative to allow for more ambiguous story telling and attitude to come through, rather than just giving up the meaning straight away. ‘Arkangel ‘is an alternate take on the story of ‘Icarus’, discussing the tension between two lovers who become violent with one another as friction builds in their lustful affair.”
Having just stepped off the stage in support of In Hearts Wake’s Australian tour, Thornhill are set to appear at UNIFY and Full Tilt festivals before making their debut in the US in support of Dayseeker in April. The band also return to the UK/Europe to join Bury Tomorrow & August Burns Red throughout October/November.
